Lights, camera, action Showtime films during Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week will kick off in SoNo next week with a last-minute addition which city officials hope will be an added draw to diners, shoppers and businesses along Washington Street.

On Monday, a film crew will be on hand to shoot an installment of "The Big C," the Showtime Network television series about a housewife, played by Golden Globe winner Laura Linney, who is living with cancer.

On Friday, the city issued a film permit to the series. Production will start Monday at 7 a.m. and continue throughout the day, culminating with a scene on the Stroffolino Bridge at sunset.

"They came in and said, 'We'd like to do it Monday,' and I said, 'Let's see if we can accomplish that,'" said Tad Diesel, the city's director of marketing and business development. "It really meant some extraordinary work on the part of the producers, too, to get the neighborhood informed, and I think that they've accomplished that."

Washington Street will be closed to vehicular traffic for brief periods Monday during the production. Norwalk Police will be stationed at entrances to Washington Street to direct traffic along convenient alternative routes. Police will be accompanied by "ambassadors" who will be available to assist with questions about parking and restaurant-week activities.

"Despite the disruption, I think they're looking at it as an opportunity to attract more people at the beginning of restaurant week," Diesel said.

During Restaurant Week, many SoNo restaurants will offer luncheon and dinner specials. Retail businesses are hoping visitors will enjoy shopping before and after dining, Diesel said.

SoNo merchants only learned about the filming on Thursday when notices were posted on the entrances to condominiums, according to John Deorio, owner of Sassafras Gifts & Home Decor on Washington Street.

"We found out last minute, and we weren't too thrilled about it," Deorio said. "This is going to cause all the parking spots on Washington Street to be bagged. There's going to be limited vehicular traffic at times. But the underlying thought that we all had was we're going to make this a positive event. One of the suggestions was to have goodwill ambassadors at both ends of the street (and say) 'Come down and see the filming of this show.'"